“How Dare We Speak Merry Christmas” Continues to Trend on TikTok — What Does It Mean?

On Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, households worldwide celebrated Christmas Day. The day marked the one time of the year when the world is calm, most people aren't working, and where you can unapologetically indulge in as many Christmas movies and goodies as your heart desires. For many, Christmas is something to look forward to. However, the season was likely a bit annoying for Vice President Kamala Harris.

The last few months of 2024 have been particularly difficult for Kamala. In November 2024, she lost the Presidential election to former president Donald Trump, who will take office in January 2025. However, before the election, Trump used one of her lines against her, "How dare we say Merry Christmas."

Since the video from Harris's speech aired, TikTok has continued to do what it does best: meme-ify it. Here's what all the fuss is about regarding "How dare we speak Merry Christmas."

During Harris and Trump's presidential race, the Trump Administration posted a video of her 2017 speech during negotiations about protections for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. In her speech, Harris shared how the children, also called Dreamers, don't have the same rights as those not considered illegal immigrants, and is something Americans should consider amid the Christmas season.

"And when we all sing happy tunes and sing Merry Christmas and wish each other Merry Christmas, these children are not going to have a Merry Christmas," she said while defending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. "How dare we speak ‘Merry Christmas!’ How dare we! They will not have a merry Christmas. They don’t know if they will be here in a matter of days, weeks, and months.”

In addition to sharing the video, the Trump administration called Harris "the Grinch" and shared videos of him enjoying Christmas with his family and in his cameo on Home Alone 2. They also added one of Trump's speeches from 2016, in which he promised, “If I become president, we’re all going to be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again."

Soon after the video aired, multiple TikTok creators began using the "How dare we speak Merry Christmas" sound in their TikToks. Some used it in conjunction with another clip of Kamala saying "Merry Christmas" to show that they will indeed say "Merry Christmas" once the season is near. Others used the "How dare we speak Merry Christmas" sound and added Trump's sound to double down on them choosing to say "Merry Christmas."

While Harris hasn't addressed the influx of memes regarding her speech, it's important to note the issues she discussed were still relevant during the 2024 holidays. Jokes aside, Dreamers are still fighting for Congressional legislation despite President Joe Biden's efforts in November 2024. So, it seems Harris had a reason to shame those who care about saying "Merry Christmas" than the lives of others.